Even well intentioned people can possess bias. Though studies have shown explicit expressions of biased beliefs and attitudes have declined significantly over the past few decades, measures of implicit bias remain persistently high.

On this episode of Student Affairs Live, host Tony Doody speaks with Zaneta Rago-Craft, Yoshiko Harden, and Lena Tenney to better understand where, how and when we develop our bias. Other topics explored on this episode include micro-aggressions and inclusive language, strategies for ameliorating bias, and tactical self-presentation.

Please contribute to the conversation by emailing questions before the show to tony@higheredlive.com or by tweeting live during the show using the #higheredlive hashtag. We’ll do our best to infuse questions from viewers (with attribution) into the live conversation.

Episode Host

Tony Doody

Tony Doody has over 25 years of practical experience and oversight in senior leadership positions within the Higher Education industry in the areas of Facilities Management, New Student Orientation, Recreation, Parent and Family Programs, Leadership and Training, Marketing and Communications, Adult Learning, and Major Events and Programs.
Over the last six years, Tony has presented at over thirty universities and national conferences on topics of innovation, digital leadership, technology, and unconventional leadership. He received the Diamond Honoree Award from the ACPA Foundation, the highest honor of the American College Personnel Association, recognizing transformative contributions to the field (2017) and earned NASPA's 2017 Technology Emerging Practice Award.
In addition, Tony has worked over 20 years as a consultant in the areas of executive coaching, leadership development, presentation skills, risk-taking, innovation, social media, conflict resolution, and team cohesiveness. Past clients include J&J, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Vistakon, Navigant, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, United Way, Merrill Lynch, Tumi International, and Aventis Pharmaceuticals.

Guests

Yoshiko Harden

Ms. Harden serves as the Vice President for Student Services at Seattle Central College. In this role she provides leadership over student services’ units such as, Student Development, Student Resources, and Enrollment and Registration. Formerly she served as the Vice President for Diversity/Chief Diversity Officer at Bellevue College. There she led college-wide initiatives to address inequity in recruitment, hiring, professional development for faculty and staff, Title IX, and bias response. Ms. Harden was formerly the Director of Multicultural Services and Student Development at Highline College. Yoshiko Harden earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California, San Diego in Communications and Women’s Studies in 1996. In 2001, she earned her M.Ed from Seattle University in Student Development Administration.

Zaneta Rago-Craft

Zaneta Rago-Craft is the Director at the Rutgers University Center for Social Justice Education & LGBT Communities, and holds an MA in Higher Education and Student Affairs from New York University.

Originally from the Jersey shore, she graduated in 2010 from the Ramapo College of New Jersey with a BA in History and Women and Gender Studies. While at Ramapo College, she discovered her passion for student affairs while working as a Program Coordinator and Queer Peer Services Coordinator at the campus’ Women’s Center. She transitioned to NYU immediately after graduating where she served as the Graduate Assistant for the NYU LGBTQ Student Center. While at her two former institutions, Zaneta coordinated and led Safe Zone trainings, peer education initiatives, and general LGBTQ/diversity programming.

Zaneta has a passion for infusing social justice education into her student affairs work. In the summer of 2011, Zaneta studied abroad in South Africa, where she conducted an ethnographic study and created a short documentary on the experiences of LGBTQ South African youth. Zaneta has a particular interest in facilitating conversations around the intersectionality of multiple identities and oppression, art as activism, feminism, anti-racism, LGBTQ representations in the media, and multiracial experiences in a “check one box” world.

Lena Tenney

Lena Tenney (pronouns: they/them/theirs) joined the Race & Cognition Program at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in 2016. As a Researcher and Facilitation Specialist, they work collaboratively to conduct research on and facilitate workshops, presentations, and trainings related to implicit bias and structural racism. Lena is a co-author of the 2017 edition of the Kirwan Institute’s State of the Science: Implicit Bias Review publication (forthcoming).

A trained intergroup dialogue facilitator, Lena is interested in continually identifying and implementing strategies that encourage active engagement with topics that are often considered difficult to discuss. Lena is the creator of an award-winning interactive presentation titled “The Power of Words: Using Inclusive Language.” They have facilitated and co-facilitated this program on college campuses and at student affairs conferences including ACPA 2017 and SWACUHO 2015. Additionally, Lena has developed an active bystander training dedicated to empowering participants to speak out in those “…did they really just say that?!” moments when bias emerges in everyday conversation.

Lena is a founding member of two grassroots community activist groups that have sought to ensure legal protections for and institutional inclusion of LGBTQ individuals at the municipal and campus levels. Lena currently serves on the LGBTQ Student Success Task Force for The Ohio State University and as a member of the Board of Directors for TransOhio—a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for transgender individuals and communities.

Lena graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Masters of Education and a Masters of Public Administration. They also hold a Bachelors of Arts in Religious Studies and History from the University of Oklahoma.